Dietary intake of lycopene by the Belgian adult population.

OBJECTIVE: Lycopene is a potent antioxidant, and it has been suggested that intake of tomatoes and tomato products containing lycopene is associated with a decreased risk of various chronic diseases. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the distribution of dietary lycopene intake in the Belgian population and to determine the most important contributors to lycopene intake. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: National food consumption data from the Belgian Food Consumption Survey (BFCS) 2004 were used for the intake assessment. Determination of the lycopene content in foods was performed with HPLC-UV. Individual food consumption data were multiplied by the actual mean concentrations of lycopene per food. SUBJECTS: Individuals (n 3083) aged 15 years and older participated in the study and provided two 24 h recalls. RESULTS: The mean lycopene intake among Belgian adults was 4·1 (sd 2·3) mg/d or 0·059 (sd 0·033) mg/kg body weight per d. Lycopene intake among men (4·6 (sd 2·6) mg/d) was higher than among women (3·6 (sd 2·1) mg/d), and was higher in the younger compared with the older age groups. Cis-lycopene intake represented about one-third of the total lycopene intake. Tomatoes and tomato products (43%) and sauces and ready-to-eat meals containing tomato sauces (41%) were the main contributors to lycopene intake in Belgium. CONCLUSIONS: The lycopene intake of the Belgian adult population was comparable to intakes reported in neighbouring countries and was below the acceptable daily intake.

Intake assessment for benzoates in different subgroups of the Flemish population.

An exposure assessment was performed to estimate the daily intake of benzoates for the Flemish population. Three age groups were considered: preschool children (n=697; age 2-6; 3-day estimated dietary record), adolescents (n=341; age 14-18; 7-day estimated dietary record) and women (n=641; age 18-40; 2-day estimated dietary record). In a first step in the risk evaluation process as proposed by the European Union, the individual food consumption data were multiplied with the maximum permitted use levels for benzoates per food group. The median (interquartile range) estimated daily intake is, respectively, 2.0 (1.0-3.2) mg/kg bw, 1.7 (1.1-2.7) mg/kg bw and 1.92 (1.3-3.0) mg/kg bw for preschool children, adolescents and adult women. In all age groups, the greatest potential contributor to the total estimated benzoate intake was the group of non-alcoholic flavoured drinks. At respectively the 92nd percentile (children), the 97th percentile (adolescents) and the 94th percentile (women), the accepted daily intake (ADI) of 5mg/kg bw/day is exceeded slightly. However, this approach, in which the maximum permitted use levels are used is known to overestimate the intake, since not all food items in which benzoates are allowed, contain (the maximum permitted use level of) benzoates. A more precise estimation, using actual levels, is recommended.

Fourth WHO-coordinated survey of human milk for persistent organic pollutants (POPs): Belgian results.

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are chemicals that accumulate in the food chain and are toxic to humans and wildlife. The fourth World Health Organization (WHO) survey on POP levels in human milk (2006-2009) aims to provide baseline and trend information on human exposure to POPs. So far Belgium participated in all three previous rounds (1988, 1992, 2001). Whereas the first three rounds focused on determination of dioxins and PCBs in pooled (mixed) samples, the fourth survey comprised the analyses of individual milk samples for nine "basic POPs" (chlorinated pesticides and indicator PCBs) and of pooled milk samples for "basic POPs", "advanced POPs" (dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs) and "optional POPs" (polybrominated diphenylethers [PBDEs], polybrominated dioxins and dibenzofurans [PBrDD/F], mixed halogenated dioxins and dibenzofurans [PXDD/F] and hexabromocyclododecane [HBCD]). For the Belgian participation human milk samples were collected during the summer of 2006 from 197 women between 18 and 30 years old distributed over all Belgian provinces. The individual samples were analyzed in a Belgian Laboratory for "basic" POPs. A pooled sample was made from 178 individual samples and analyzed by the WHO Reference Laboratory for the "basic, advanced and optional" POPs. The results indicate that most organochlorinated pesticides banned 25-30 years ago were below or around detection limits in Belgian human milk samples although DDE was still found at low levels in all samples. Over the last five years the levels of marker PCBs and PCDD/Fs in Belgian human milk decreased, respectively, by 58% and 39%. For some of the other emerging or older compounds recent international data are needed to allow comparison. This shows the importance of international studies as run by WHO.

Dietary exposure of the Belgian population to emulsifiers E481 (sodium stearoyl-2-lactylate) and E482 (calcium stearoyl-2-lactylate).

A dietary exposure assessment of food emulsifiers E481 (sodium stearoyl-2-lactylate) and E482 (calcium stearoyl-2-lactylate) in the Belgian population was performed. Nationally representative food consumption data from the Belgian National Food Consumption Surveys 2004 (BNFCS2004) and 2014 (BNFCS2014) were used for calculations. A conservative approach (combining individual food consumption data with the maximum permitted level (MPL) of foods (tier 2), was compared with more refined estimates (combining individual food consumption data with actual concentrations measured in food products available on the Belgian market (tier 3)). Estimated daily intakes were compared to the acceptable daily intake (ADI) of the stearoyl-2-lactylates. The results of tier 2 demonstrated that 92% of the children (3-9 years), 53% of the adolescents (10-17 years), 15% of the adults (18-64 years) and 26% of the elderly (64-98 years) had a potential intake higher than the ADI. When replacing the MPL with maximum analysed concentration levels in foods, daily intake estimates decreased dramatically. The estimated daily intake of the food emulsifiers was below the ADI for all age groups, except for a small percentage of children (1.9%) for which the intake exceeded the ADI. The main contributors to the exposure of E481 and E482 were bread, rolls and fine bakery wares.

Dietary exposure of the Belgian adult population to non-dioxin-like PCBs.

Non-dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (ndl-PCBs), and some of their metabolites, might initiate neurological, neuroendocrinological, immunological and carcinogenic effects. Dietary exposure of the Belgian adult population to ndl-PCBs was investigated in this study. Foods from five food groups, collected in Belgium in 2008, were analyzed by GC-MS/MS for the six indicator PCBs (PCB 28, 52, 101, 138, 153 and 180). Results were expressed as the sum of the six congeners. A dietary exposure assessment was performed, combining ndl-PCBs levels found in food with data from the national food consumption survey of 2004. Fish and fish products were the dominating food group in terms of contamination level, with the highest levels measured in the composite sample «other fishes¼ (18.58 ng/g FW). The dietary exposure of the Belgian population (n=3083) to ndl-PCBs ranged from 5.33 ng/kg b.w./day on average to 16.10 ng/kg b.w./day at the 99th percentile, using the lower bound concentration. The mean dietary exposure mainly originates from Fish and fish products (54.3%), followed by dairy products (28.5%). As neither EFSA nor JECFA have set a Tolerable Daily Intake for ndl PCBs, uncertainty remains about how to interpret the exposure data in terms of public health.

Dietary intake of artificial sweeteners by the Belgian population.

This study investigated whether the Belgian population older than 15 years is at risk of exceeding ADI levels for acesulfame-K, saccharin, cyclamate, aspartame and sucralose through an assessment of usual dietary intake of artificial sweeteners and specific consumption of table-top sweeteners. A conservative Tier 2 approach, for which an extensive label survey was performed, showed that mean usual intake was significantly lower than the respective ADIs for all sweeteners. Even consumers with high intakes were not exposed to excessive levels, as relative intakes at the 95th percentile (p95) were 31% for acesulfame-K, 13% for aspartame, 30% for cyclamate, 17% for saccharin, and 16% for sucralose of the respective ADIs. Assessment of intake using a Tier 3 approach was preceded by optimisation and validation of an analytical method based on liquid chromatography with mass spectrometric detection. Concentrations of sweeteners in various food matrices and table-top sweeteners were determined and mean positive concentration values were included in the Tier 3 approach, leading to relative intakes at p95 of 17% for acesulfame-K, 5% for aspartame, 25% for cyclamate, 11% for saccharin, and 7% for sucralose of the corresponding ADIs. The contribution of table-top sweeteners to the total usual intake (<1% of ADI) was negligible. A comparison of observed intake for the total population with intake for diabetics (acesulfame-K: 3.55 versus 3.75; aspartame: 6.77 versus 6.53; cyclamate: 1.97 versus 2.06; saccharine: 1.14 versus 0.97; sucralose: 3.08 versus 3.03, expressed as mg kg(-1) bodyweight day(-1) at p95) showed that the latter group was not exposed to higher levels. It was concluded that the Belgian population is not at risk of exceeding the established ADIs for sweeteners.